CN111002951A

CN111002951A - Cover circulation type sensor protection device and autonomous vehicle having the same

Info

Publication number: CN111002951A
Application number: CN201910910460.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 郑辉星; 李正浩; 徐载雄; 尹炳圭; 徐祥赫; 金善民
Original assignee: Hyundai Motor Co; Kia Motors Corp
Current assignee: Hyundai Motor Co; Kia Corp
Priority date: 2018-10-08
Filing date: 2019-09-25
Publication date: 2020-04-14
Also published as: DE102019214890A1; KR102552086B1; US11673534B2; US20200108802A1; KR20200044187A

Abstract

The present application relates to a cover circulation type sensor protection device and an autonomous vehicle having the same. The sensor protection device includes a first sensor cover movable between a sensor covering position and a first cover standby position; a second sensor cover movable between a sensor covering position and a second cover standby position, wherein each of the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover is located at the sensor covering position for protecting a sensor surface from contamination by foreign matter; and an actuator configured to move the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover so that the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover are alternately located at sensor covering positions thereof.

Description

Cover circulation type sensor protection device and autonomous vehicle having the same

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims priority from korean patent application No.10-2018-0119714, filed on 8.10.2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a sensor protection device and an autonomous vehicle equipped with the same.

Background

Autonomous vehicles, which have been rapidly developed in recent years, use sensors and a Global Positioning System (GPS) to recognize front, rear, left, and right directions and objects around the vehicle.

For example, these sensors are classified into radio wave detection and ranging (radar) and light detection and ranging (lidar) with respect to whether or not to be exposed for operation. The radar is a non-exposure type sensor that accurately measures a relative distance to an object and a relative speed of the object with respect to an observation point by transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves and provides them to a vehicle. On the other hand, the lidar is an exposure type sensor that finds the position of the host vehicle and calculates the traveling direction, the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and the like in cooperation with the GPS by calculating a signal reflected after light is emitted to an object and recognizing the shape of an object located within a certain range as a three-dimensional (3D) shape.

Disclosure of Invention

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a cover circulation type sensor protection unit, with which performance of a sensor ensuring safety of autonomous driving under environmental conditions of snowfall or rainfall is maintained by maintaining penetrability of a cover at all times by means of a cover circulation structure replacing a contaminated cover with a clean cover, particularly, restriction of material of the cover and restriction of temperature of a heating wire are eliminated by ensuring penetrability of the cover without using any heating wire to remove foreign matter, and an autonomous vehicle having the cover circulation type sensor protection unit.

Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure may be understood by the following description, and will become apparent with reference to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, it is apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that aspects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by the means as claimed and combinations thereof.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the sensor protection unit includes a sensor shield for exchanging a position of foreign matter on a front of the sensor so that performance of the sensor is not deteriorated by the foreign matter.

In an embodiment, the exchange of positions is performed by a cyclic structure.

In an embodiment, the sensor shield includes a sensor cover for exchanging a position of a foreign object on a front of the sensor and an actuator for generating power to exchange the position of the sensor cover.

In an embodiment, the sensor cover is connected to the actuator via a rotary shaft, and the position replacement is performed by rotating the rotary shaft by power of the actuator. The sensor cover is divided into a first cover and a second cover, wherein only either one of the first and second covers is located at the front of the sensor. The first cover is switched into position below the sensor and the second cover is switched into position above the sensor.

In an embodiment, each of the first and second covers is provided with a cover leg which is kept at a distance from the sensor, wherein the cover leg is connected to the rotation shaft.

In an embodiment, the sensor shield further includes wipers connected to the sensor housing in such a manner as to be located above and below the sensor, respectively, to remove foreign substances when the position of the foreign substances is exchanged, and the sensor housing has an open space formed therein, to which the wipers are connected.

In an embodiment, a drain pipe forming a space for collecting foreign substances is provided at a connection portion between the wiper and the sensor housing. A waste conduit is disposed in the interior space of the sensor housing. The sewage conduit is formed in a curved shape structure having an apex at a central portion.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an autonomous vehicle includes: a sensor protection unit including a sensor cover configured to be rotated by an actuator so that a front portion contaminated by foreign substances is exchanged with a clean front portion, and a wiper connected to a sensor housing having an open space in which the sensor is located, the wiper removing foreign substances attached to the sensor cover; a radiator grill having a sensor protection unit; and radars exposed to the outside from the radiator grill, wherein performance degradation due to foreign substances is prevented by exchanging positions of the sensor covers.

In an embodiment, the radiator grille is provided with a sensor hole for exposing a radar associated with the sensor protection unit to the outside.

In an embodiment, the sensor protection unit comprises a controller for enabling exchange of the position of the sensor cover by controlling the actuator, wherein the controller comprises a data map in which a table is constructed regarding the sensitivity of the sensor and the ambient air temperature, the controller outputting a control signal to the actuator.

In an embodiment, the controller is associated with an operating button, wherein the operating button is divided into a manual button and an automatic button, which send signals to the controller.

The autonomous vehicle according to the present disclosure employs a cover circulation type sensor protection unit, thereby achieving the following actions and effects.

First, since any heating wire is not used to secure the penetration of the sensor cover, a sensor protection unit can be developed, which can be applied to radar and the like, without considering the limitation of the cover material and the limitation of the temperature of the heating wire. Second, it is possible to prevent the performance of the sensor cover from being deteriorated due to the operation of the heating wire and the contamination of the sensor cover, thereby ensuring the performance of the radar. Third, even if heavy snow falls or freezes after parking, autonomous drivability can be ensured and the radar sensor can be protected by replacing the sensor cover with a clean sensor cover. Fourth, the performance of the radar can be maintained by the circulation type cover, thereby configuring the radar as a complete unexposed type radar, thereby protecting the sensor from various hazardous environments. Fifth, interruption of autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle due to pollutants may be minimized or prevented, thereby achieving stable autonomous driving.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present disclosure are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the disclosure as claimed.

Drawings

The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a block diagram of a cover circulation type sensor protection unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a cover circulation type sensor protection unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged assembly view of portion A of FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged assembly view of portion B of FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of an autonomous vehicle to which a cover cycle type sensor protection unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applied;

fig. 6 is a view illustrating a downward movement of a cover circulation type sensor protection unit in an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

fig. 7 is a view illustrating upward movement of a cover circulation type sensor protection unit in an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive of the present disclosure, as those skilled in the art can now realize various different embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one implementation of an autonomous vehicle, the radar is provided with a cover that is transparent to the radar, onto which heating wires are applied to shield external sources of pollution and protect it from snow and ice in winter, the latter resulting in the radar being unavailable.

Therefore, the radar is protected from contamination by a contamination source and malfunction occurs, so that stable autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle can be realized.

The autonomous vehicle may also have an improved protective structure to provide enhanced performance in the radar that ensures safety of autonomous driving without hindrance even under severe weather conditions such as snowfall, rainfall, and icing.

In developing the sensor cover, enhancing the performance of protecting the radar may require considering limitations on cover materials, for example, limitations on materials of a penetrable cover of the radar to which a heating wire is applied, and limitations on the temperature of the heating wire that can avoid freezing without adversely affecting the performance of the radar cover of the radar, because general materials of the heating wire for defrosting are resistive bodies and adversely affect the penetration performance of high-frequency radar waves.

Furthermore, enhancing the protective properties of lidar includes applying cleaning techniques that can prevent and remove contamination due to external exposure.

Referring to fig. 1, the sensor protection unit 1 includes a sensor shutter 1-1, a sensor 50, a controller 60, and an operation button circuit 70. Specifically, the sensor shield 1-1 has a cover circulation structure that exchanges a cover contaminated with foreign substances for another clean cover. Therefore, the sensor protection unit 1 may be defined as a cover circulation type sensor protection unit.

Specifically, the sensor shield 1-1 includes a sensor cover 10, an actuator 20, a wiper 30, and a sensor housing 40.

For example, the sensor cover 10 includes a first cover 10-1 and a second cover 10-2, which are coupled to each other via a rotation shaft 13. The first cover 10-1 is made of a material that is transparent to radio waves. Which is sized to cover the size of the sensor 50 and has a structure in which the cover legs 11 protrude from both sides. The second cover 10-2 is made of a material that is transparent to radio waves. Which is sized to cover the size of the sensor 50 and has a structure in which the cover legs 11 protrude from both sides.

In one implementation, the width between the cover legs 11 of the first cover 10-1 is narrower than the width between the cover legs 11 of the second cover 10-2, such that the first cover 10-1 and the second cover 10-2 are assembled in a stacked state. In addition, the cover leg 11 protrudes from each of the first and second covers 10-1 and 10-2 by a length having a distance spaced apart from the sensor 50.

Further, each cover leg (cover leg)11 has a trapezoidal shape, and holes are drilled at both free ends of the cover leg to allow the rotation shaft 13 to be fitted therein. Accordingly, the rotation shaft 13 is fitted into the holes of the cover legs 11 and passes through the housing of the actuator 20, thereby coupling the first cover 10-1 and the second cover 10-2 together. Therefore, when the first cover 10-1 covers the front surface of the sensor 50 while being spaced apart from the sensor, the second cover 10-2 comes above or below the sensor 50 and is located in the sensor housing 40.

For example, the actuator 20 is supplied with power under the control of the controller 60, and the rotary shaft 13 thereof is rotated forward or backward by the rotation of the shaft of the motor or the movement of the rod of the solenoid valve.

For example, the wipers 30 are connected to the sensor housing 40 to be arranged above and below the sensor 50, wherein each wiper includes a frame (frame) constituting a connection portion to the sensor housing 40 and a blade (blade) of a rubber material provided at the frame to remove foreign substances adhering to the surface of the sensor 50. Specifically, the wiper 30 is divided into an upper wiper 30-1 disposed above the sensor 50 with the sensor housing 40 and a lower wiper 30-2 disposed below the sensor 50 with the sensor housing 40.

For example, the sensor housing 40 forms an open space configured to expose a front surface of the sensor 50 to the outside, wherein drain pipes (drain ducts) 41 are formed above and below the open space, respectively. Specifically, the sewage conduit 41 is formed in a curved shape structure having an apex at a central portion thereof, so that foreign substances are propelled rightward and leftward by the gravity and easily discharged to the outside.

Specifically, the sensor 50 may be a radar as an electromagnetic wave transmission/reception sensor or a lidar as a light irradiation sensor.

Specifically, controller 60 may generate control signals to an electric motor or solenoid of actuator 20. Specifically, the controller 60 controls the rotation direction of the actuator 20 to be forward or reverse rotation, or controls the moving direction of the actuator to be forward or backward movement.

Further, the controller 60 is provided with a data map or data map module 60-1, wherein the data map 60-1 detects and identifies the sensitivity of the sensor 50 for the performance of the sensor and the temperature of the ambient air around the sensor 50 as input information, and constructs the input information in a table. In one embodiment, the input information is detected by a typical sensor installed in the vehicle.

Specifically, the operation button circuit 70 includes a manual button 71 and an automatic button 73. The manual button 71 is a button type in which the driver's pressing is set to ON (ON) and the releasing is set to OFF (OFF), and the manual button 71 transmits an ON/OFF signal as an operation signal of the controller 60, wherein the controller 60 outputs a signal for controlling the actuator when ON. The auto button 73 causes the controller 60 to automatically output a signal for controlling the actuator in association with the data map 60-1.

Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the sensor protection unit 1, in which the sensor cover 10, the actuator 20, the wiper 30, the sensor housing 40 and the sensor 50 are assembled.

Specifically, the sensor cover 10 is configured such that, when the rotation shaft 13 is rotated by the power of the actuator 20 in a state where the first cover 10-1 and the second cover 10-2 are fixed, the first cover 10-1 (or the second cover 10-2) covering the front surface of the sensor 50 is moved above or below the sensor 50, whereby the second cover 10-2 (or the first cover 10-1) comes to the front surface of the sensor 50.

In one embodiment, rotation of the rotation shaft 13 allows the first cover 10-1 or the second cover 10-2 to be rotated up or down to a position away from the sensor 50, thereby supporting movement to change the position of the sensor to cover the front surface of the sensor 50. For this purpose, the rotation shaft 13 is associated with a rotation conversion member 21 of the actuator 20.

Specifically, the actuator 20 is provided with a rotation conversion member 21, the rotation conversion member 21 being disposed in an internal space in which an output portion of the actuator is located, wherein the rotation conversion member 21 is formed of a rotary gear member (e.g., a worm and a worm wheel) for converting the rotation of the motor into the rotation of the rotary shaft 13 or a linear gear member (e.g., a rack and pinion) for converting the movement of the electromagnetic valve into the rotation of the rotary shaft 13.

Thus, a worm wheel or rack is disposed at an output portion of the actuator 20, and a worm or pinion is disposed on the rotation shaft 13. In one embodiment, the rotary gear member or the linear gear member is a typical rotation conversion device.

Specifically, the wiper 30 is configured such that the upper wiper 30-1 and the lower wiper 30-2 are fixedly connected to the sensor housing 40 via fixing pins 31, respectively.

Accordingly, the fixed position of the upper wiper 30-1 may be maintained such that the upper wiper does not remove foreign substances until the blade and the surface of the sensor cap come into contact with each other by the movement of the first cap 10-1 (or the second cap 10-2). Further, the fixed position of the lower wiper 30-2 may be maintained such that the lower wiper does not remove foreign substances until the surfaces of the blade and the sensor cap come into contact with each other due to the movement of the second cap 10-2 (or the first cap 10-1).

Specifically, the drain pipe 41 is formed in the sensor housing 40, and includes an upper drain pipe 41-1 formed below the upper wiper 30-1 and a lower drain pipe 41-2 formed below the lower wiper 30-2. In one implementation, each of the upper and lower drain pipes 41-1 and 41-2 may be integrally formed with the sensor housing 40, but may be connected to the sensor housing 40 by welding or bolting after they are manufactured as separate components.

Specifically, each of the upper and lower drain pipes 41-1 and 41-2 is formed in a curved shape structure having an apex at a central portion, so that the foreign substances K falling from the sensor cover are pushed rightward and leftward by the gravity, and thus easily discharged to the outside. Further, the upper sewerage pipe 41-1 is provided with an open space allowing the second cover 10-2 to pass therethrough, and the lower sewerage pipe 41-2 is provided with an open space allowing the first cover 10-1 to pass therethrough.

Fig. 3 and 4 show a state in which foreign substances K on the first and second covers 10-1 and 10-2 are removed by the wiper 30 and collected in the drain pipe 41.

Referring to fig. 3, the upper wiper 30-1 removes foreign substances K adhered to the second cover 10-2 in a moving path of the second cover 10-2 and then collects the removed foreign substances in the upper drain pipe 41-1. Referring to fig. 4, the lower wiper 30-2 removes foreign substances K adhered to the first cover 10-1 in a moving path of the first cover 10-1 and then collects the removed foreign substances in the lower soil exhaust pipe 41-2.

Next, fig. 5 to 7 show an example of an autonomous vehicle 100 to which the sensor protection unit 1 is applied.

Referring to fig. 5, the autonomous vehicle 100 includes a sensor protection unit 1 installed in a sensor installation area 100-1 of a front of the vehicle.

Specifically, the sensor protection unit 1 is identical to the sensor protection unit 1 described above with respect to fig. 1 to 4. However, this sensor protection unit 1 differs from the sensor protection unit described above in that the sensor 50 is replaced by a radar 150, the controller 60 and the actuator 20 are powered by a vehicle battery 130, and a data map (data map)60-1 processes detection information from a sensor 140 mounted in the vehicle as an input. In this case, the sensor 140 mounted in the vehicle includes a determined value or sensitivity sensor for detecting a sensor sensitivity for performance of the radar 150 and a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of ambient air around the vehicle.

Specifically, the sensor mounting area 100-1 includes a bumper 120 and a radiator grill 110. The radiator grill 110 allows external air to flow into a radiator disposed in an engine room. The bumper 120 may be an active bumper including a bumper body for buffering impact and a bumper cover on which a laser radar as a sensor exposed to the outside is mounted while giving an aesthetic appearance.

Specifically, the radiator grill 110 is formed with a sensor hole 110-1, wherein the sensor hole 110-1 serves as an open space for exposing the sensor cover 10 (i.e., the first cover 10-1 or the second cover 10-2), the sensor cover 10 being located at a front portion of the radar 150 facing the outside when the sensor protection unit 1 is installed.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example in which the sensor cover 10 is rotated counterclockwise by the operation of the sensor protection unit 1, which illustrates a case in which the first cover 10-1 of the sensor cover 10 contaminated by foreign substances and thus reducing the performance of the radar 150 is replaced with the second cover 10-2 maintained in a clean state.

As shown, the actuator 20 operates by outputting a signal for controlling the actuator, which is generated by the controller 60 in response to an ON operation of the manual button 71 or the automatic button 73. In this case, it is assumed that the operation of the actuator 20 is performed in such a manner as to rotate the rotation shaft 13 counterclockwise via the rotation conversion member 21.

Thus, the counterclockwise rotation of the rotary shaft 13 forces the first cap 10-1 to be pushed in toward the lower wiper 30-2 by the cap legs 11 fixed to the rotary shaft 13, while forcing the second cap 10-2 to be pushed out toward the upper wiper 30-1.

Accordingly, the first cap 10-1 is pushed toward the lower wiper 30-2 in a state of being in contact with the lower wiper, so that foreign substances adhered to the surface of the first cap 10-1 are removed by the lower wiper 30-2. Further, the second cap 10-2 is pushed out from the upper wiper 30-1 while its surface is cleaned in a state of contacting the upper wiper, and then the first cap 10-1 is replaced with the second cap.

As a result, the first cover 10-1 having a clean surface without foreign substances is located in the lower space of the sensor housing 40, and the second cover 10-2 is located in front of the radar 150 in a clean state, so that the performance of the radar 150 is not deteriorated. The foreign substances removed by the upper wiper 30-1 are collected in the upper drain pipe 41-1 and then discharged to the outside, and the foreign substances removed by the lower wiper 30-2 are collected in the lower drain pipe 41-2 and then discharged to the outside.

Finally, the controller 60 stops the operation of the actuator 20 in response to the OFF operation of the manual button 71 or the automatic button 73. However, the controller 60 may stop the operation of the actuator 20 for a preset time set in a timer set when the auto button 73 is operated.

On the other hand, fig. 7 shows an example in which the sensor cover 10 is rotated clockwise by the operation of the sensor protection unit 1, which shows a case in which the second cover 10-2 among the sensor cover 10, which is contaminated by foreign matter and thus deteriorates the performance of the radar 150, is replaced with the first cover 10-1, which is maintained in a clean state.

As shown, operation of the actuator 20 by the controller 60 upon turning on of the manual button 71 or the automatic button 73 forces the rotating shaft 13 to rotate clockwise, so that the second cap 10-2 is pushed in toward the upper wiper 30-1 and the first cap 10-1 is pushed out toward the lower wiper 30-2.

Accordingly, foreign substances adhered to the surface of the second cap 10-2 are removed by the upper wiper 30-1 while the first cap 10-1 is pushed out from the lower wiper 30-2 while cleaning the surface thereof in a state of being in contact with the lower wiper, and then the second cap 10-2 is replaced by the first cap.

As a result, the first cover 10-1 is disposed in front of the radar 150, and the second cover 10-2 is located in the upper space of the sensor housing 40, so that the radar 150 operates without degrading its performance. In this case, the removed foreign materials collected in the upper and lower drain pipes 41-1 and 41-2 are discharged to the outside.

As described above, the cover circulation type sensor protection unit 1 applied to an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the sensor shield 1-1, wherein the sensor shield 1-1 includes the sensor cover 10 configured to be rotated by the actuator 20 such that a front contaminated by foreign substances is exchanged with a clean front, and the wiper 30 connected to the sensor housing 40, the sensor housing 40 having an open space in which the sensor 50 is located to remove the foreign substances adhered to the sensor cover 10, such that the performance of the sensor ensuring autonomous driving safety is maintained under an environmental condition of snowfall or rainfall, particularly, since the foreign substances are removed without using any heating wire to ensure the penetration of the cover, the limitation of the cover material and the limitation of the temperature of the heating wire are eliminated.

Although the present disclosure has been described in the foregoing with reference to the drawings shown by way of example, the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that modifications and variations can be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications or variations fall within the scope of the claimed disclosure, and the scope of the disclosure should be construed based on the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sensor protection device, comprising:

a first sensor cover movable between a sensor covering position and a first cover standby position;

a second sensor cover movable between the sensor cover position and a second cover standby position, wherein each of the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover is located at the sensor cover position for protecting a surface of the sensor from contamination by foreign matter; and

an actuator configured to move the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover so that the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover are alternately located at the sensor covering positions thereof.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to pivot the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to pivot the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover simultaneously, and is further configured to move the first sensor cover from the sensor covering position to the first cover standby position while moving the second sensor cover from the second cover standby position to the sensor covering position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover is connected to the actuator via a rotating shaft.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to move the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover such that the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover are not both in the sensor covering position at the same time.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first cover standby position of the first sensor cover is different from the second cover standby position of the second sensor.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each of the first and second sensor covers is provided with a cover leg that maintains a distance spaced apart from the sensor, and wherein the cover leg is connected to the rotational shaft.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor housing and a wiper connected to the sensor housing for removing foreign matter from the first and second sensor covers when changing the position of the first and second sensor covers.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein a drain is disposed at a location between the wiper and the sensor housing, and wherein the drain forms a space for collecting the foreign matter.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the waste conduit is disposed within the interior space of the sensor housing.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the waste pipe is formed in a curved configuration having an apex at a central portion.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first wiper located at a first wiper position between the sensor cover position and the first cover standby position of the first sensor cover, and configured to clean the first sensor cover when the first sensor cover moves between the sensor cover position and the first cover standby position of the first sensor cover; and

a second wiper located at a second wiper position between the sensor covering position and the second cover standby position of the second sensor cover, and configured to clean the second sensor cover when the second sensor cover moves between the sensor covering position and the second cover standby position of the second sensor cover.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an electromagnetic wave transmission and reception sensor.

14. An autonomous vehicle comprising:

a radiator grill including a sensor hole;

a sensor connected to the radiator grill and including a surface exposed to the outside through the sensor hole of the radiator grill; and

the apparatus of claim 1, connected to the radiator grille such that at least one of the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover is in a sensor covering position in front of the surface of the sensor.

15. The autonomous vehicle of claim 14, wherein the sensor comprises a radar.

16. The autonomous vehicle of claim 14, further comprising a controller configured to cause the actuator to perform the changing of the positions of the first sensor cover and the second sensor cover.

17. The autonomous vehicle of claim 16, wherein the controller is provided with a data map associated with control signals to be output to the actuators, and wherein the data map includes a table regarding the sensitivity of the sensors and the temperature of the ambient air.

18. The autonomous vehicle of claim 16, further comprising a manual button and an automatic button configured to send signals to the controller.